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Zoho announced it has integrated its core Zoho productivity applications with Google Drive. Specifically, Google Drive users can create, open and edit files with Zoho Writer word processor, Zoho Sheet spreadsheet and Zoho Show presentation applications – all while working in Google Drive’s web interface. To set up the Zoho applications for use with Google Drive, users can add them to Google Chrome by visiting the Chrome Web Store at http://ow.ly/ch2TX (Zoho Writer), http://ow.ly/ch2Xp (Zoho Sheet) and http://ow.ly/ch347 (Zoho Show).

“Google has been excellent in creating a platform for web applications, and we have been the leading vendor in Google’s web application ecosystem, both in the Google Apps Marketplace and Google’s Web Store”

“Google has been excellent in creating a platform for web applications, and we have been the leading vendor in Google’s web application ecosystem, both in the Google Apps Marketplace and Google’s Web Store,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “We are excited to take our integration one step forward by offering our Office suite to Google’s users.”

Zoho Office Apps in Google Drive

Users can add Zoho applications to Google Drive using the “Manage apps” option in the Settings menu in Google Drive. Once added, Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show will appear as options under the “Create” option, to create new documents, spreadsheets and presentations. When users right-click on individual files to open them within Google Drive, the Zoho applications will appear under the “Open with” option.

When a user saves Zoho documents, spreadsheets or presentations in Google Drive, the files are stored in Google Drive and automatically synchronized with that user’s other desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet devices – assuming those devices are also connected to Google Drive.

Files uploaded from a desktop, as well as native Google files, can be opened using the Zoho Office applications. While editing existing documents, a copy of a document is created and saved in Zoho Office formats – .zdoc for documents, .zsheet for spreadsheets and .zslides for presentations – leaving the original document untouched.

Users can also invite their Google contacts to collaborate on their Google Drive documents and edit them using Zoho editors in real time. Based on the permissions, users will be allowed to access the document for collaboration.

Pricing and availability

Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show for Google Drive are available today, at no charge. Users can add the Zoho applications to Google Chrome by visiting the Chrome Web Store at the following links and clicking the “Add to Chrome” button:

Zoho Writer: http://ow.ly/ch2TX
Zoho Sheet: http://ow.ly/ch2Xp
Zoho Show: http://ow.ly/ch347

For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com and watch “What is Zoho?” To get breaking Zoho news, visit and subscribe to the RSS feed at http://blogs.zoho.com, and follow the company on Twitter at @zoho and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zoho.

Zoho Resources

Zoho news releases: http://www.zoho.com/in-the-news.html
Zoho product videos: http://www.zoho.com/product_videos.html
Zoho general videos: http://www.zoho.com/videos.html
Zoho blogs: http://blogs.zoho.com
Zoho on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/zoho
Zoho Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/zoho

Google have announced Gmail SMS. Gmail SMS automatically forwards your emails as SMS text messages to your phone and you can respond by replying directly to the SMS. You can control the emails received by replying with commands such as MORE, PAUSE and RESUME. Additionally, compose a new email as an SMS and send to any email address recipient – who will find your message in the right email conversation thread!

You can now send and receive emails as SMS messages using your mobile phone, regardless of whether or not your phone has an internet connection, like Wifi or 3G. Gmail SMS works on any phone, even the most basic ones which only support voice and SMS.

Gmail SMS is free of charge. Standard SMS rates apply when replying to messages, creating new messages and sending Gmail SMS commands from your phone.

Read more: http://google-africa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/send-and-receive-gmail-on-your-phone-as.html

ViewSonic Corp., announced its latest high performance, energy efficient display — the VX2703mh-LED.

Ideal for consumers, SMBs and educational environments alike, the VX2703mh-LED is a 27″ widescreen LED monitor with a contemporary thin bezel design. Ideal for both home and office, this versatile Full HD 1920 x 1080p monitor offers HDMI(R), DVI and VGA inputs with HDCP support, along with a speedy 3ms response time, a 10M:1 MEGA Dynamic Contrast Ratio, integrated power, and built-in SRS Premium Sound(R) speakers.

VX2703mh Monitor

The VX2703mh-LED also comes standard with loads of useful features such as automatic aspect ratio adjustment to ensure content is optimally positioned and sized for screen viewing, in addition to being Windows(R) 7 certified and VESA wall mount compatible. The VX2703mh-LED is as feature rich as it is eco-friendly. In fact, this mercury-free display offers ViewSonic’s ECO-mode feature for extended display life, along with an energy savings of up to 40%* when compared to a regular 27″ monitor.

“The new VX2703mh-LED is the ideal display for home and office applications, as well as web surfing and multimedia entertainment with its multiple video inputs,” said Erik Willey, LCD monitor and PC product marketing director at ViewSonic. “If you’re looking for a versatile monitor with both low TCO and high performance, backed by a display heritage you can count on, the ViewSonic VX2703mh-LED is your solution.” The VX2703mh-LED comes standard with a 3-year limited warranty, and the industry’s best pixel performance policy. The VX2703mh-LED will be available in North America in mid-July for an ESP of $299. For further information, visit ViewSonic.com or follow ViewSonic on the Company blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

About ViewSonic ViewSonic(R) Corporation, headquartered in Walnut, California, is a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics, and communications solutions. Founded in 1987, ViewSonic’s mission is to be the preferred global brand of visual solutions as we continue to focus on display-centric product offerings including LED monitors, tablets, projectors, digital signage displays, and cloud computing solutions. ViewSonic continues to pioneer in visual technology innovation to build a connected and ever-reaching digital future. For further information, please visit ViewSonic.com.

dextr a downloadable keyboard-replacement app for Android has been released.

Text with dextr – the revolutionary keypad that makes texting as easy as A B C
dextr® is designed with you and your fingers, thumbs and hands in mind.
The keys are arranged alphabetically — they’re all where you’d expect them to be:
* The buttons are fingertip sized and fingertip shaped
* And they’re spaced one finger-width apart
* You’ll never hit the wrong key again
* There’s only one memory trick required – where we’ve placed the “Z” key

Download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gkxim.android.dexter

Garmin International Inc., announced f?nix, its first GPS wrist watch for outdoorsmen, such as mountaineers, hikers, cyclists, hunters and backpackers. f?nix provides comprehensive navigation and tracking functionalities as well as trip information to guide adventurers during their challenging activities off the beaten track. Its built-in sensors provide information on heading, elevation and weather changes. Utilizing Garmin’s leading GPS technology, f?nix can guide adventurers off the trail and back to the safety of a vehicle, trailhead or campsite. Sporting a classic round watch design in a high-strength housing with a scratch-resisting display, it is built to endure the toughest outdoor conditions and also makes a stylish day-to-day timepiece.

“f?nix packs Garmin’s leading and trusted outdoor technology into a robust, wrist-worn GPS watch that outdoorsmen can rely on,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Being able to go hands free while still having access to Garmin’s precise and accurate information on weather, elevation and position provides adventurers the confidence and peace of mind to take their outdoor activities even further off-trail.”

Plan, Navigate and Track

f?nix includes a comprehensive navigational toolset that allows users to plan trips and create routes, record waypoints, such as campsites or points of interest, and record GPS bread crumb trails on the move (tracklogs). Adventurers can navigate to coordinates, along a track or route, towards waypoints, geocaches or along any other selected bearing. A navigation arrow provides clear directional guidance and the TracBack® function can guide one back along a previously recorded tracklog. This provides adventurers peace of mind knowing they’re never “lost” and can easily find their way back in case of an emergency or bad weather conditions. Also included is a worldwide basemap displaying cities nearby. Using the BaseCampTM desktop application, f?nix users will be able to easily plan trips and share their adventures with friends and family. f?nix is equipped with both ANT capabilities and Bluetooth® to wirelessly share tracks, waypoints, routes and geocaches with other compatible Garmin devices. A Basecamp mobile app allows users to transfer waypoints and tracklogs to view them on a more detailed map and larger screen of select smartphones.

Altimeter, Barometer and Compass

f?nix is equipped with ABC sensors (altimeter, barometer and compass) to provide explorers relevant real-time information. The built-in altimeter provides elevation data to accurately monitor ascent and descent, the barometer can be used to predict weather changes by showing short-term trends in air pressure and a 3-axis electronic compass keeps the user’s bearing whether he’s moving or not. Utilizing its GPS receiver, f?nix can auto-calibrate its ABC sensors and also auto sets the time based on location. For an extremely accurate temperature reading, f?nix can be paired with tempeTM, Garmin’s new external temperature sensor.

Measure Performance

Similar to Garmin’s running watches, f?nix provides real-time performance data, such as distance, pace time and calories, helping outdoorsmen keep track of their progress during and after their adventures. This is especially useful to keep track of fitness activities off the beaten track, such as adventure or trail running. f?nix is also compatible with Garmin’s premium heart rate monitor for heart rate info and with a speed/cadence sensor for distance, speed and cadence while on a bike. The displayed data fields are fully customizable right from the watch.

Built to Endure the Roughest Conditions

f?nix is built to endure the toughest outdoor conditions, combining a high-strength housing to survive shocks with a mineral glass lens to resist scratching. It boasts a large LCD display with LED backlight and a robust polyurethane wristbands. Garmin’s outdoor watch is waterproof to 50 meters and has a battery life of up to 50 hours in GPS mode (depends on settings) and up to 6 weeks in watch mode. Basic watch functions include alarms, tones, vibration alerts, timer, stopwatch and world clock with the ability to display several times zones at once.

Garmin f?nix is expected to be available in fall 2012 and will have a suggested retail price of $399.99. tempe is an optional accessory and has a suggested retail price of $29.99. The polyurethane wristband will be available in olive or orange and an optional leather wristband can be added.

f?nix is the latest solution from Garmin’s growing outdoor segment, which focuses on developing technologies and innovations to enhance users’ outdoor experiences. Whether it’s Golfing, Hiking, Hunting or Geocaching, Garmin outdoor devices are becoming essential tools for outdoor enthusiast of all levels. For more information about Garmin’s other outdoor products and services, go to http://www.garmin.com/us/products/onthetrail/, www.garmin.blogs.com and http://twitter.com/garmin.

Corsair announced the Force Series™ GS solid-state drives (SSDs). The new SSDs, which offer the fastest overall performance in Corsair’s SandForce®-based lineup, will initially ship in capacities of 180GB and higher. As with other Force Series drives, the Force Series GS SSDs are based on the SandForce SF-2200 SSD Processor, but add toggle NAND flash memory to boost random write speeds up to an amazing 90,000 IOPs.i

The Force Series GS SSDs feature SATA 6Gb/s connectivity for compatibility and performance, TRIM support to maintain performance over time, and lower power operation for longer battery life. Their 2.5″ form factor, combined with an included 3.5″ adapter, allow easy installation into notebooks or into desktop PCs.

The solid-state design of Corsair SSDs enable them to deliver faster data read and write speeds which can reduce software load and PC startup times. And because SSDs have no moving mechanical parts, they help laptops run cooler, run longer on batteries, and resist data loss from bumps.

Availability
The Force Series GS SSDs are immediately available in capacities of 180GB, 240GB, 360GB, and 480GB. Prices (in USD) in the United States start at $189.99 for 180GB, $239.99 for 240GB, $349.99 for 340GB and $489.99 for 480GB capacities.